Incoming students attended orientation services in Goodson Chapel.Duke Divinity School welcomed an entering class of 223 new students from 37 different states and Puerto Rico, and seven other countries, including Germany, China, South Korea, and Kenya.

The Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree program gained 134 new students and showed an increase in the diversity of under-represented groups. Students from minority groups comprised more than 25 percent of incoming M.Div. students, with black students making up 15.6 percent.

Across all degree programs at the Divinity School, 26 percent of the incoming class were from under-represented groups. Black students made up 17.4 percent of all students; Hispanic students, 1.7 percent; Asian students, 4.9 percent; American Indian students, 1.3 percent; and Hawaiian students, .45 percent. Forty percent of students in both the incoming class and the M.Div. class were female, up from 36 percent last year.

“We are proud that Duke Divinity School continues to welcome an increasingly diverse class each year,” said Paige Anderson, director of admissions operations. “Our class includes students from five continents who bring a global perspective to our school community.”

Interim Dean Ellen Davis spoke to students during orientation.There were 43 denominations represented in the entering class, with 37.6 percent of all entering degree students and 43.2 percent of entering M.Div. students affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Baptist students made up 13.9 percent of the new students; Presbyterian/Reformed, 10.7 percent; nondenominational, 8.9 percent; Anglican-Episcopal, 7.6 percent; Pentecostal, 2.6 percent; and Roman Catholic, 2.24 percent.

The Master of Arts in Christian Practice degree program experienced a 30 percent growth of its entering cohort over last year, and the Doctor of Ministry degree program increased 38 percent this year.

The Divinity School welcomed the entering class with an orientation program and picnic, followed by Opening Convocation on Aug. 25.